How To Become A Product/Project Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a product/project engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Jerry Leth,

Brian Denton Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a product/project engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $41.13 an hour? That's $85,558 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a product/project engineer?

Jerry Leth

VP/General Manager, MANA

We are the Manufacturers' Agents National Association, a trade association of independent manufacturers' representative businesses. We will address this question from that perspective.
To a recent college graduate, a question I pose is, "Am I going to be happier and more satisfied working for someone? Or would I be more satisfied if I embarked on a path that leads me to own my own business?"
If the answer is owning your own business, consider looking for employment as an outside salesperson for an existing manufacturers' representative business. Our average member employs six outside salespersons, and the largest employs 160. Starting out as an employee provides an opportunity to learn about the business while earning an income. When you are ready, many manufacturers' representative firms offer ownership opportunities to employees, or you may choose to move on and start your own business. Either way, you achieve your goal of owning and running your own business.

ScoreProduct/Project EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,558

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 14.05%

Black or African American 3.35%

Hispanic or Latino 9.10%

Unknown 4.58%

White 68.81%

Gender

female 10.37%

male 89.63%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a product/project engineer

Explore product/project engineer education requirements

Most common product/project engineer degrees

Bachelor's

76.7 %

Master's

13.1 %

Associate

8.7 %

Start to develop specific product/project engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	9.83%
CAD	8.78%
Solidworks	7.49%
Aerospace	7.29%
Product Development	5.59%

Complete relevant product/project engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New product/project engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a product/project engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real product/project engineer resumes.

Research product/project engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
Convert part and assembly drawings from AutoCad to Solidworks.
Review, audit and create ISO 9000 area procedures, flow charts, test procedures and forms.
Award special recognition from NIBCO's chairman of the board for efforts in gaining ISO certification quickly and smoothly.

Prepare your product/project engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your product/project engineer resume.

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